Hinge construction



vFel; ..25, 1941. A. v. RowE HINGE CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 7, 1959 .AT1-Ys. y

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HINGE CONSTRUCTION Alvin V. Rowe, Galesburggflll., assigner to Rowe Manufacturing Company, Galesburg, Ill., a cori poration of Illinois Application November 7, 1939, Serial No. 303,258

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to door hinges and more particularly to door hinges which are adapted for use with overhead door constructions wherein a plurality of hinge'clly connected panels are employed.

Hinges used to connect adjacent panels of an overhead door are subjected to forces tending to separate adjacent door panels. That is to say, as the door panels are shifted between vertical 10 door closing position and open overhead position, the hinges connecting these panels encounter forces tending to urge the adjacent margins of the door panels away from each other.

Material Vused in the construction of conventional overhead door hinges is of such a gauge that, if the thickness of material is depended upon to resist forces tending to bend it, a certain amount of stretching or separation of the hinge parts may be experienced. My invention con- 0 templates a hinge construction wherein the metal of the hinge is not subjected to bending forces, and is so designed as to positively preclude any stretching or separation of the hinge parts.

More specifically, my invention contemplates a door hinge wherein forces exerted by adjacent door panels tending to stretch the hinge parts are effectively opposed by cooperating hinge elements which do not depend solely on the resistance of the material to bending in opposing the tendency to stretch. To this end I propose to provide cooperating hinge members extending laterally from companion hinge plates, these laterally extending elements being interlocked so as to provide an exceptionally strong support for a roller shaft.

Still more specifically, my invention contemplates a hinge construction of the type set forth above, wherein a pair of cooperating hinge members is so disposed that forces tending to separate these hinge parts act along lines substantially parallel to the plane of the hinge stock, as distinguished from forces acting laterally or at right angles to the plane of said stock.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a hinge construction for overhead door panels and the like, in which the constituent hinge elements are not only designed to effectively resist distortion or spreading but are identical in form, thereby precluding the necessity of em- 50 ployng structurally different dies for constituent elements of the hinge.

The invention also contemplates a hinge construction of the type set forth above, wherein it is possible to retain a track roller shaft in operative position and insure the free floating movement of Vthe roller shaft within the hinge, the shaft being functionally independent of the hinge coupling.

Additional objects and advantages will be understood from the following description when 5 considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is an elevational View of a hinge structure contemplated by the present invention, said View being taken from the side of the hinge opposite to the side which is secured to the door panels;

Figure 2 is a side elevational View of the hinge of Figure 1, as viewed from the left of Figure 1; and 15 Figure `3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view taken through the fulcrum or axis of the hinge, said view being taken substantially along the line 3-3 of Figure l.

In the drawing, like numerals have been em- 20 ployed to designate similar parts throughout the various figures, and it will be seen that one embodiment of my invention comprises a hinge designated generally by the numeral l0. The hinge ID comprises two identical hinge elements 25 I2 and I4. Each of these hinge members includes a plate I6 suitably apertured at i8 to facilitate attachment thereof to the inner surface of adjacent' door panels 20 and 22 indicated by dotted lines in Figure 2. Bolts 24 or other suit- 3o able fastening devices extend through the apertures i8 and the door panels so as to firmly secure the plates I6 to said panels.

Extending laterally from and formed integral with each hinge plate i6 is an arm or ear 26 35 and a cooperating arm or ear 28. To counteract tendency of the ears 26 and 28 to bend along the line of their junction with the plate I6, I provide gussets 30. These gussets are formed by upsetting a portion of the stock inwardly, 40 as clearly indicated in the drawing.

It will be noted that the ears 26 and 28 extend a considerable distance out of the plane of the plates I6, `and that the free or outer extremities of the ears 26 and 28 on one plate hingedly in- 45 terlock with the outer extremities of the ears 28 and 26, respectively, of the other plate.

Each of the ears 28 is provided with embossed bearing sections 32 which extend through companion apertures provided in the ears 26. Each bearing section 32, after being inserted within the companion aperture in the ears 26, is flared so as to'v prevent axial displacement of the associated parts. These' bearing sections 32 are in axial alignment and'provide a support for a roller shaft 55 act on this hinge member in such a way as to bend it down toward the face of the door, i. e.

they act transversely of the stock. Furthermore, bending of the hinge as a result4 of such a strain tends to separate the door sections.

Particular attention is directed to the structural arrangement of the above-described hinge mechanism, which prevents spreading or stretching of the two parts forming the hinge. As previously pointed out, onev of the important objects of the present invention is to prevent spreading ofthe hinge parts, and to accomplish the forces tending to spread the hinge plates Athe ears 26 and 28 and thus counteract tendency the shaft, to be positioned a considerable disthis I have so arranged the ears 26 and 28 and their associated plates I6 that the forces tending to separate or pull apart the adjacent door panels 20 and 22 act in a direction parallel with the plane of the stock of the ears 26 and 28 and not transversely thereof. In other words, a hinge is provided in which the axis iS olset laterally from vthe plane of the hinge plates but in which no part of the hinge plate or ears is subjected to lateral -or transverse distortion. From the foregoing description, it will be observed' that all forces tending to move the door panels 20 and 22 in opposite vertical directions (Figure 2) will be transmitted through the ears 26 and 28, not as bending forces but as forces acting in planes which are coincident with the plane of said ears. Thus, although the material of the hinge is of moderate thickness or gauge and the axis of the hinge is offset from the plane of the hinge plates,

apart are effectively resisted by the interlocking ears positioned along opposite sides of said plates, without subjecting the hinge stock to bending. The llets or gussets 30 lend lateral strength to for said ears to become bent.

It will also be noted that the above-described hinge construction enables the roller shaft, and consequently the axis of the roller supported by tance away from the plane of the door panels, and thus materially facilitates the movement of the adjacent or interlocking margins of the panels away from each other as said panels are shifted over the curved section (not shown) of the track 36.

The hinge members l2 and I4 being of identical construction, enables them to be produced by the same die and hence materially reduces the cost of manufacture over conventional hinge mechanisms with which I am familiar, wherein the constituent hinge elements differ materially in structural characteristics.

The hinge device as herein described, equippedV with the integral bearing members 32 interlocking with companion apertures, renders the device operable as a hinge independently of the track roller shaft 34. In other words, the. track roller shaft 34 does not provide a pivot or fulcrum for Obviously in s-uch a construction, forces. tending to pull the hinged door sections apart' the hinge members but is independent and free floating within the bearing sections 32. The bearing sections 32, because of the structural arrangement hereinbefore described, maintain their alignment and provide a mounting for the track therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1'. A hinge construction comprising a pair of hinge members, each of said members comprising a hinge plate and a pair of spaced ear members integral with andV extending laterally of the hinge plate, each pair of said ear members being coaxially apertured, one of said apertures of each pair being smaller than the other, one ear of each pair about the smaller aperturebeing provided with an axially extending annular bearing member surrounding the aperture and adapted to be received in a companion aperture of the apertured ear member of the companion hinge member whereby the hinge members are hingedly connected, said annular bearing member extending through its companion aperture, and means interlocking the bearing member therewith against axial separation.

2. A hinge construction comprising a pair of hinge members, each of said members comprising a hinge plate and a pair of spaced ear members integral with and extending laterally of the hinge plate and outwardly beyond the edge of the hinge plate adjacent the hinge axis, both pair of said ear members being coaxially apertured, one of said apertures of each pair being smaller than the other, one of said ear members about the smaller aperture being provided with ber being located at least. in part in the portions of the ears so extending beyond the edge o-f the hinge plate adjacent the hinge axis.

3. A hinge construction comprising a pair of hinge members, each of said members comprisv ing a hinge plate and a pair of spaced ear members integral with and extending laterally of the hinge plate and outwardly beyond the edge of the hinge plate adjacent the hinge axis, both pair of said ear members being coaxially apertured, one of. said. apertures of each pair being smaller than the other, one of said ear membersv about the smaller aperture being provided with an axially extending bearing member adapted to be received in the larger aperture'of the apertured ear member of the companion hinge member, whereby the hinge members are hingedly connected, said aperture and said bearing member being located on the ears at points remote from the hinge plates and at least in Vpart in the portions of the ears so extending beyond the edge of the hinge plate adjacent the axis' whereby the axis of the hinge is offset from the plane of the hinge plates. v f

4. A hinge construction comprising a pair of hinge members, each of said members comprising va hinge plate and a-,pair of spaced ear'members integral Withand. extending laterally of the hinge plate and outwardly beyond the edge of the hinge plate adjacent the hinge axis, both pair of said ear members being coaxially apertured, one of said apertures of each pair being smaller than the other, one of said ear members about the smaller aperture being provided with an axially extending boss adapted to be received inthe larger aperture of the apertured ear member of the companion hinge member and means interlocking the boss therewith against axial separation whereby the hinge members are hingedly connected and interlocked, said aperture and said boss being located at least in part in the portions of the ears so extending beyond the edge of the hinge plate adjacent the hinge axis.

5. A hinge construction comprising a pair of hinge plates, a pair of spaced ear members integral with and extending laterally of each hinge plate, each pair of ear members being equally spaced and coaxially apertured, one of said apertures being smaller than the other, the apertures in one pair being adapted for coaxial registration with the apertures in the other pair when the hinge plates are operatively secured in position, one ear of each pair about the small aperture thereof being provided with an axially extending boss adapted for hinged reception within a companion aperture in an ear of the other pair, each pair of ear members and associated hinge plate being structurally identical with the other ear members and companion hinge plate with each boss extending through its companion aperture and interlocked therewith in such a manner that forces acting transversely of the hinge axis tending to separate the hinge plates will be positively resisted by said hingedly connected ear members.

6. As an article of manufacture, a hinge plate for a hinge construction of identical hinge plates, said plate comprising a pair of spaced ears integral with and extending laterally of the plate, said pair of ear members being coaxially apertured, one of said apertures being smaller than the other, both of said apertures being adapted for coaxial registration with the apertures in an identical plate, one ear of said pair about the small aperture being provided with an axially extending boss adapted for hinged reception in a companion aperture in an ear of an identical plate, said boss having an outer diameter equal to the diameter of the other aperture and adapted to extend freely through the relatively large aperture of an identical plate in bearing relationship and having an `axial dimension greater than the thickness of the ear permitting the boss to be axially interlocked therewith.

ALVIN V. ROWE. 

